Physio-chemical and microstructural characteristics of selected pozzolanic materials for cement and concrete production

Abundant aquatic animal by-products are available in Nigeria which include clam, oyster, rock Snail and periwinkle shells. These are usually dumped on open lands without any economic value after fleshy parts of these animals had been consumed by humans, hence, result into environmental problems. In the agricultural sector, Rice husk and Palm oil fuel ashes are by-products from rice and palm oil industries after the husks have been used as source of fuel. Disposal of these wastes are always a major issue as they constitute nuisance to the environment. This research has collected and characterized these wastes in the laboratory to ascertain their suitability as supplementary cementitious materials. With this study, physical properties such as particle size, specific gravity, specific surface area and morphology are conducted by Scanning Electron Morphology, SEM; chemical analysis are carried out with the aid of X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), for microstructure examination, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) machine is used for detecting minerals in the materials while Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis (FESEM-EDX) are used for image and element detection. The results of these analyses will help in the future work of pozzolanic and geopolymer construction in Nigeria. The results are further compared with previous literature to see their compatibility and discrepancy. Keywords: Aquatic, agricultural, cementitious, SEM, XRF, XRD, FESEM-EDX